Hellenismos, otherwise known as Greek Reconstructionist Paganism, is the traditional, polytheistic religion of ancient Hellas, reconstructed in, and adapted to, the modern world. It's a vibrant religion which can draw on a surprising amount of ancient sources. Baring the Aegis blogger Elani Temperance blogs about her experiences within this Tradition. For contact, please use the gmail address 'baring.the.aegis'.

When is Recon, Recon?

Yesterday, I wrote about my experiences at Pagan festivals and I got a lot of thoughtful and understanding replies on it, both on Facebook and PaganSquare as well as in real life. It got me thinking about my Recon Tradition and how Recon I can make it. This was also inspired by a comment by Rebecca Buchanan on another post of mine at PaganSquare whose thoughtful reply made me scratch at an itch I have been refusing to scratch for a while now.

Hellenismos is a Recon Tradition; it's founded upon religious practice, as practiced by the ancient Hellens in a culture where this religious practice blended in effortlessly. Myself, I'm not Greek. I don't live in Greece. I'm a lesbian woman living in a culture which is incredibly far removed from that of ancient Hellas. I also practice alone and I have to substitute a lot of practices and sacrifices with something socially acceptable.

I'm going to say something now that I do not take lightly but I do stand behind. If practiced correctly and without prolonged suffering for the animal, I am in favor of animal sacrifice in religious worship. In all honesty, I think it's a beautiful practice. I would not relish the kill at all, and I think that if I ever had to do it, I would really, really struggle with it. But I would do it, out of respect for the Gods and because it was part of the practice of the ancient Hellens.

For those of you who say that even the Hellens turned away from animal sacrifice; they did, but only in the end. Animal sacrifice was practiced for centuries. Most of the festivals have a sacrificial component to it; anywhere from a single pig to a hundredth cows. The meat was distributed fairly within the community and the first cut went to the Gods--unless it was a holókaustos, then the whole of the animal was sacrificed. For many families, this sacrificial meat was the only meat they ate.

Can you imagine what an impact an animal sacrifice had on a family? They offered an animal they often couldn't really miss to the Gods out of piety. They took a blow to their income of money, supplies or food to honor the Gods. Often they got to keep the meat but can you imagine the depth of devotion it would take a poor family to sacrifice even a single animal in a holókaustos? With our supermarket society, that sort of sacrifice is absolutely unknown to us.

This is just one example of why I think it's almost impossible to practice Hellenismos as a Recon Tradition within our society. I can give you at least two dozen more. How about xenia; offering anyone access to your home, washing their hands, drawing them a bath and giving them food without asking what they came to do. Then, when they get ready to leave, you offer them some of the most precious things you own. I'm pretty sure my IKEA delivery guy would think I'm absolutely nuts. Or what about pledging an offering of wine on the ground before every meal to the Daímōns of the home? I'm pretty sure my girlfriend--or the floor--wouldn't appreciate that very much.

So we perform an incredible feat of mental athleticism; we say that Hellenismos is a modern Reconstruction Tradition and we take out everything that's inconvenient under the guise of 'modern practice'. I have a problem with that. Not a problem I can fix, but a problem none the less.

Of course xenia is still practiced if I only invite people inside my home whom I trust and who want to come in. I can offer them a drink and snacks, everyone can stay for dinner at my house and if they want to, I will make them a bed and invite them for breakfast. I can entertain my guests with good conversation and a movie. Xenia will be practiced... but it's not xenia as practiced by the ancient Hellens.

In my reply to Rebecca, I said the following:

"I would love to move to Greece, form a new Hellenic community somewhere near the coast and practice Hellenismos as it's supposed to be practiced. But I can't, so I adapt. And it kind of sucks."

And I mean it. Both the moving as well as the sucking, I mean it both. I try to adapt my practice the best I can; focussing on household worship more than the festivals. I find a personal connections to the Gods which I can share with my non-religious girlfriend who tries to accommodate a religious household as much as she can manage. I practice xenia in a modern setting. I integrate ethics, study and piety in my daily life and try to live a religious life by integrating and involving the Gods into everything I do. In the mean time I look for ways to practice a more Recon form of Hellenic Recon; a Tradition that I truly love.

A large part of Hellenic Reconstruction is practicing with other people, so if anyone knows Hellenics in the Netherlands, do a Hellenic a favor and nudge them my way, alright? Perhaps together, we can kick Hellenismos up a notch.